Face-Off: Our Tech Experts Discuss Your Sluggish PC
A sluggish computer can drag down productivity, but it's not always easy to diagnose the cause.
Your PC is so pokey that you could run an errand in the time it takes to load an application. Is it riddled with infection, or simply crying out for a hardware upgrade and software cleanup?
We asked two Staples technology experts, Shawn Dube and Ryan Salinger, for their views on the likely causes of sluggish performance.
Shawn: First of all, there’s going to be some kind of indicator that you’re infected. For instance, when you start up your computer, there’ll usually be a pop-up window saying hundreds of viruses are detected — a pretty common trick these days. Or, when you open your Web browser, you'll get redirected to another site. These types of incidents will be very persistent and easy to detect. With a computer that’s running slowly, I wouldn't automatically say it's a virus. But if a virus is present, it can slow things down.
Ryan: I think it’s a myth that it’s always viruses slowing down a PC; that’s just something antivirus commercials claim to get you to buy their products. When your computer has a virus, what happens is that you get locked out, and your computer does funny things. You can’t open programs, for example. Most likely, the PC is slow because it’s old. If you have a PC that’s seven or eight years old, of course it’s not going to run as well as it did when you first got it. It’s the same as your car — it needs regular maintenance and cleaning to keep it running well. But with a PC, people just think “virus” if the performance slows.
Shawn: Age of the computer is one issue, but equally important is what’s on the PC. You could have a lot of applications taking up resources, and that kind of thing builds up over time. It could be a failing piece of hardware, or maybe you just need some maintenance. Clearing out excess data and clearing cache folders are important for making sure your PC is running as efficiently as possible.
Ryan: If you’ve done all the cleanup, then it could be you're hitting a hardware limitation, like not enough RAM (random access memory). One thing we offer at EasyTech is a PC Tune-Up +, where we check for viruses and clean out temporary files. We also get an idea of how your PC is doing in terms of memory and processing power. Very often, we find out that what’s needed is a memory upgrade. That's nice, because it’s the cheapest and most effective way to upgrade.
As the experts note, the cause of a sluggish PC most likely involves hardware and cleanup issues, not viruses. Unless your computer is showing those obvious signs of a virus, first investigate whether you need to upgrade hardware, transfer data to external hard drives or simply opt for a newer PC. The pros at EasyTech can give plenty of insight through their fast, affordable, tune-up service.